This invention relates generally to a connector member and, more particularly, to a fiber optic connector member having a removable front insulator, and to an extraction tool for releasing and withdrawing the insulator from the connector shell.
In a fiber optic connector, it is desirable to provide a front insulator within the connector shell which protects the termination pins that terminate the fiber optic bundles mounted in the connector, yet is removable so that the face of the fiber bundles can be cleaned periodically in the field while the connector is in use. The front insulator is retained in the connector shell by means of suitable resilient retention fingers on opposite sides of the shell. A tool is required to release the retention fingers and grip the front insulator in a positive fashion so that it can be readily withdrawn from the shell without damaging either the insulator or the termination pins in the connector.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,951,514 to Medina discloses such a connector in which a central elongated slot extends from the forward face of the removable front insulator that protects the contact elements in the connector to a rearwardly facing surface thereon. Clearance spaces are provided between the inner surface of the connector shell and the outer surface of the front insulator, extending from the front face of the insulator to rearwardly facing shoulders thereon which are engaged by the retention fingers mounted in the shell. An extraction tool is provided which comprises a shaft having a handle mounted on the rear end thereof and a transversely extending arm on the forward end of the shaft. The arm is dimensioned so as to be slidable within the central slot in the front insulator of the connector. In addition, a U-shaped element is rotatably mounted adjacent to the forward end of the shaft. This element has a pair of forwardly extending legs which are generally parallel to and spaced from the shaft. The distance between the legs and shaft corresponds to the distance between the central slot in the front insulator of the connector and the retention fingers mounted in the shell that retain the insulator therein. The tool is inserted into the connector member with the transversely extending arm sliding through the central slot in the front insulator and the forwardly extending legs on the rotatable element of the tool extending into the clearance spaces to lift the retention fingers out of engagement with their cooperating retention shoulders on the front insulator to thereby release the fingers, leaving the insulator free floating in the shell. The handle of the tool is then rotated approximately 90.degree. so that the transversely extending arm on the forward end of the shaft will engage a rearwardly facing surface on the insulator. The tool is then withdrawn from the connector shell to extract the insulator therefrom. Thus, a single tool is utilized to release the retention fingers and withdraw the front insulator from the connector shell without damaging the pins that terminate the fiber bundles within the connector, thereby allowing the faces of the fiber bundles to be easily cleaned in the field.
While the foregoing arrangement is satisfactory from a functional standpoint, it has two disadvantages. The central slot in the front insulator which receives the transversely extending arm on the forward end of the shaft of the tool uses up valuable space in the connector which could otherwise be utilized for mounting optical fiber termination pins or contacts. Secondly, the tool is relatively expensive since the U-shaped element must be rotatably mounted with respect to the shaft of the tool and, in addition, manipulation of the tool to release the retention fingers in the connector and withdraw the front insulator therefrom is complicated by the fact that the handle on the tool must be rotated. The purpose of the present invention is to modify the Medina connector and tool so as to eliminate the central slot in the front insulator of the connector and to simplify the structure and handling of the tool.